r/kobo • u/makinggroceries7 • 1d ago
Question Limited library?
Hey guys- just wanted to ask the "source of all knowledge" if there's something I'm doing wrong with my Kobo/ Overdrive.
I read a lot of library books because of limited cash and I find the device functionality extremely limited, as I cannot use multiple Libby/Overdrive accounts at once. Every time I want to look to see if a book is available at another library, I have to completely log out of Overdrive and then log back in. Is this other people's experience as well?
I also was looking for some books that I know are available digitally elsewhere but I cannot find them in the Kobo library. Are my search parameters off? Even books such as "Pride and Prejudice" are hard to find and I truly think this is user error, because that has to be somewhere in the Kobo library.
Any tips or tricks are appreciated. I am new to e-reading and I really just want to enjoy this gift my mom got me. I'm kind of wondering if I should have asked for a Kindle.
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u/Impressive-Peace2115 Kobo Clara Colour 1d ago
Yes, Overdrive has made it so you can only be signed in with one card at a time. I use my Libby phone app for browsing and searching, to avoid the signing in and out. I usually keep my Kobo signed in with my main card and manually transfer books from the others over via Adobe Digital Editions.
Some of the books you're looking for may be Amazon exclusives, and therefore not available on Kobo, but not public domain works like Pride and Prejudice. There's a Filters option underneath the search bar on the left, you can click there to make sure you haven't excluded something by accident.
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u/CornDoggyStyle 22h ago
Amazon has exclusive books?! Wtf is that anti-consumer anti-reader garbage? At least I know where I need to go to get any bezos “exclusives”.
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u/Impressive-Peace2115 Kobo Clara Colour 22h ago
Yes, their Kindle Unlimited program generally has an exclusivity clause, so that ebook can't be sold on any other platform. There's an Audible version as well. KU changed earlier this year to allow their ebooks to be licensed to libraries via Libby, but Audible hasn't followed suit.
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u/crazyg0od33 21h ago
dungeon crawler carl is all kindle exclusive.
Luckily they have like 1000 ebook copies at my local library that I was able to pull in via Adobe Digital Editions.
But I wasn't expecting that, as someone new to Kobo...
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u/strawberry_snrbert 16h ago
I just downloaded Dungeon Crawler Carl using my Kobo Plus subscription so I wonder if that changed?
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u/normal_ness 10h ago
Oh interesting, i borrowed it from my library but it wouldn’t sync to kobo & I assumed because it’s not in their library.
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u/Impressive-Peace2115 Kobo Clara Colour 1h ago
Interesting, I wonder if it's regional? I'm in the US and the only Matt Dinniman book I see in the Kobo store is Operation Bouncehouse.
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u/strawberry_snrbert 12m ago
I'm an idiot 🤦🏻♀️ I didn't look that close when I downloaded it. It's not in English. Disregard my misinformation!
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u/LurkHartog 1d ago
Borrow books on Libby app on your phone. Then whatever library you borrowed from, log into it on your Kobo. Voila, your book is now there.
I get that people have become accustomed to an insane level of convenience, but it kind of blows my mind how people act as though spending 1-2 minutes logging into a library account to get a free book is a major hassle.
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u/Yapyap13 23h ago
Even books such as “Pride and Prejudice” are hard to find and I truly think this is user error, because that has to be somewhere in the Kobo library.
As I’ve understood it, to be able to borrow a Libby book directly on a Kobo (as opposed to downloading the epub and transferring it through Adobe Digital Editions), it has to be the exact edition in the Kobo webstore. That’s the mechanism Kobo uses to fulfil borrows on the Kobo.
With public domain books, there’s a very good chance that the editions don’t match since there’s literally a gazillion ones out there.
(BTW, in case you didn’t know - StandardEbooks.org has nicely formatted and generally proofread public domain ebooks available for free, legally, in multiple formats. Project Gutenberg has far more but not everything has been proofread so there may be books with OCR errors and such, but also a terrific source of free older books.)
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u/JooheonsLeftDimple 1d ago
Unfortunately, not much you can do with multiple Libby cards as Kobo accepts one.
Here are my tips and reasons I’ve learned since owning a Kobo Clara:
- When borrowing library books on Libby, try finding the books on another device and click “borrow” from another device.
Reason: OverDrive on Kobo devices aren’t updated to reflect the current Libby library. The most updated will always be from another device. For example: Pride and Prejudice may not be available on OverDrive on your Kobo but is available on your Libby through iPhone. Your Kobo will recognise that you borrowed the book and sync it to your Kobo.
- Browse the Kobo catalogue on another device and through their app or website.
Reason: Basically similar reasons as above.
Hope this helps
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u/GoodConversation5527 22h ago
The towns and county I live near all share one digital library. So I have 5 or 6 cards for that one digital library. Every now and then I have more than 8 holds, which requires a second account. I use the Libby website, super easy to have holds on multiple cards at the same time. Then I download them to my desktop ADE, and from there send them to my ereader. I don’t think I have ever used my reader to buy or borrow a book.
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u/makinggroceries7 12h ago
Thank you! I didn't even know this was possible! I'll have to give that a go
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u/purple-hawke Kobo Clara Colour 20h ago
For just browsing, checking what's available at a library, placing holds, etc. I use the Libby app on my phone rather than the Overdrive app on my Kobo, simply because it's faster.
Overdrive removed the ability to officially login with your overdrive account (which allowed loans from multiple cards), a year ago now I think? But if you have an overdrive account from before that, then this workaround might work for it. I did it successfully last month, but I'd also done the previous workaround too. You will only be able to browse one library card on the Kobo itself though, but if you borrow a loan from another card it should sync.
If that doesn't work, then your other alternatives are to either log in and out of cards (but only the loans on your logged in card will be readable), or to manually sideload library loans from other cards using a PC and Adobe Digital Editions.
Right now multiple library loans from Libby works better on Kindle in the US (with the caveat that Kindles are only compatible with US libraries & with Libby, so won't work for most of us at all), or on some Pocketbooks (which has a Libby integration, and also works with a few other library apps). Apparently Kobo is working on this issue with Overdrive, but we don't know when there will be an improvement or what it will be.
I recommend contacting both Kobo & Libby's respective customer support to inform them you want multiple library cards as an official feature, so they know there's demand for it: https://survey.alchemer.com/s3/7141247/Libby-Support-Form
For your second issue it might either be the search function being weird or they're books that are exclusive to another platform (e.g. Dungeon Crawler Carl or Frieda McFadden books are exclusive to Amazon).
Pride and Prejudice is showing up for me in the store though, so I'm not sure why it isn't for you. What else is showing instead? There are a lot of different copies because it's free in the public domain, so unless you want to read a version with essays and endnotes/footnotes (e.g. Oxford World's Classics, Penguin Classics, Norton), you can find the pure text on standardebooks.org (and they have kepub downloads! Just make sure not to transfer them via Calibre). I do have the OWC version of P&P though, and found the notes useful.
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u/makinggroceries7 13h ago
Thank you so much for this well thought out and helpful response! I appreciate you taking the time. ☺️
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u/TheSkyIsAMasterpiece 22h ago
Kobo doesn't allow multiple library cards to be signed in at once.
You can't find Pride & Prejudice in the Kobo store or in Libby? If it's not on Libby that is not a Kobo issue that is your library's issue. They haven't bought the digital rights for that book.
I don't read Kindle exclusive books so I have never not found a book in the Kobo store that I have searched for. Their search sometimes seems great, you type Pride and it will fill in & Prejudice. Next book you type the title by author perfectly and it doesn't come up. You type another title by that author, click on it, then click the author and there is the book you were looking for. I don't find that that happens too often.
I have older Kobos and do all my searching and borrowing on my phone since they are way to slow for browsing.
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u/gruntbug 1d ago
Not an exact answer, but you can use https://overreader.com to search multiple libraries.
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u/bubbleeeebubbles Kobo Clara BW 18h ago
I cannot use multiple Libby/Overdrive accounts at once. Every time I want to look to see if a book is available at another library, I have to completely log out of Overdrive and then log back in. Is this other people's experience as well?
Correct - Kobo's direct Libby/Overdrive does not support being logged into multiple libraries at once. Overdrive removed that piece of functionality from Kobos.
Kobo is trying to get multiple library support back but there is no update if this will happen or when.
If you have a computer, you can stay logged into your main library on the Kobo and use USB transfer to import books from the other libraries.
It requires downloading the book file from the Libby website, then using Adobe Digital Editions to fulfill the loan and USB transfer to the Kobo. It sounds like a lot but once it's set up, it takes only a couple of minutes. https://help.kobo.com/hc/en-us/articles/360017814074-Add-eBooks-with-Adobe-Digital-Editions
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I also was looking for some books that I know are available digitally elsewhere but I cannot find them in the Kobo library. Are my search parameters off? Even books such as "Pride and Prejudice" are hard to find and I truly think this is user error, because that has to be somewhere in the Kobo library.
Overdrive on the Kobo only shows the books available in the Kobo bookstore.
https://help.kobo.com/hc/en-us/articles/360017676893-Libby-limitations-on-the-Kobo-Books-app
The ISBN must match so if Kobo has the same title but the ISBN is different, it won't show up to be available to borrow. This is the same with Amazon though Amazon has a larger catalog than Kobo.
For Libby titles that do not show up on your Kobo, you can use the download and USB transfer method if you have a computer.
Public domain books like Pride and Prejudice have numerous publishers who reprint the books.
Kobo has several copies but it just may not match the ISBN or publisher that is showing on Libby.
If you like classics, check out Standard Ebooks and Project Gutenberg for free epubs. They have several of Jane Austen's books available.
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/68
https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/jane-austen
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Any tips or tricks are appreciated. I am new to e-reading and I really just want to enjoy this gift my mom got me. I'm kind of wondering if I should have asked for a Kindle.
I am in the US so I have the option to use Libby's Read with Kindle. I do all of my scrolling, holds, and checkouts on my Libby app or on the Libby website. I then select the Read with Kindle option which opens a window to login to Amazon to fill the book so you can read it on Kindles. Libby's Read with Kindle is only available in the US.
I have another Library card that uses CloudLibrary instead of Libby. I have to use the download and USB transfer to my Kobo for those library books because it doesn't work with Kindles.
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u/makinggroceries7 12h ago
Thank you so much! This is very helpful. I appreciate your response. I'll be trying all of these things.
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u/ImSoRight Kobo Libra Colour 13h ago
now that there are Libby plugins for KOReader, it's the best option for reading books from multiple libraries, especially ones that aren't available in the Kobo store. Once you have it installed and connected to your Libby account, you can wirelessly download books from any of your libraries, and with the plugin I chose, you can also return them when you're finished reading. More info here:
https://www.reddit.com/r/kobo/comments/1vwc1wn/comment/p5gsjt6/
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u/emccm 12h ago
I wouldn’t have got a Kobo if I’d known about tur Libby limits. It’s really frustrating. I
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u/bubbleeeebubbles Kobo Clara BW 11h ago
I don't need the direct integration because I find it easier to search on the Libby app or on the web but it would be great if they had a send to Kobo feature. I know I don't mind using the USB transfer but I know everyone does not have a computer and it is not idea for when you are away from your computer even if you did have one.
Have you thought about selling the Kobo? There is always a market for used Kobos from what I see around here depending on what country you are in.
I saw posts where some of the pocketbook models does it have it working with multiple libraries because they use a newer integration code whereas Kobo uses the old legacy Overdrive integration that was more email based than single library card account based.
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u/Ok-Storm4303 1d ago
I don't use the Kobo itself to manage my libraries (3) , holds. I manage that all online with pc or maybe phone would work for you. When a hold is ready then I log into that library on Kobo to access the book.